As I mentioned before, all it took was eight weeks to completely alter the way I view technology and make me love it and sometimes despise it. However, over eight weeks, through reading blogs, discovering new free online resources, creating a website, Prezi, YouTube video, and other various technology projects, I discovered a passion for technology that came out of nowhere. Even after the eight weeks have passed, my passion has not. My passion has only grown due to the fact that I am continuously searching for new ways I can use technology in my classroom, unveiling more and more free online resources, examining and dissecting blogs, all to discover how I can grow professionally in educational technology and how I can become a leader in this area. For me, it is not enough for me to simply say that I love technology and have a passion for it. No, I must be willing to support my love for technology by providing endless examples of technology and evidence as to why technology is not the problem but rather the answer.
During my eight week Educational Technology course, I did something I never thought I would do- I created a Twitter account for myself. My instructor of Educational Technology called it a Professional Learning Network (PLN). To me it seemed crazy that she would call Twitter professional when I often saw college students display the complete opposite of professionalism. However, I learned I had complete control over my Twitter, therefor I could make it into a professional learning network. A majority of the people I follow are education based twitter accounts. Although I have many, my absolute favorite is Edutopia. Through Edutopia, I have not only gained so much knowledge about technology and other important education topics and elements, but I have always been challenged to debate with myself on whether or not my mindset is really as it should be. I probably "favorite" as least one tweet of Edutopia's per day. By following educational resources like Twitter, I have been able to create a very resourceful PLN and have access to what seems like limitless educational resources. Seeing as I want to continue to grow and learn more as an educator, I will continue to develop my PLN.
In addition to my PLN, I also plan on joining the professional organization, NETA (National Educational Technology Association). This spring, spring 2015, I will be attending the NETA conference. I can hardly contain my excitement for this wonderful opportunity. After my experience at NETA, I plan to make a promotion video to share with other Peru State students to entice and encourage them to go. As for next year, it has become one of my goals and biggest desires to present at the NETA conference next year to share my heart for technology, as well as my experiences. By the time of spring 2015, I will be student teaching; with this in mind, it is my hope that I can not only share what technology means to me, but also how I am using it, or see it being used, throughout student teaching.
During my eight week Educational Technology course, I did something I never thought I would do- I created a Twitter account for myself. My instructor of Educational Technology called it a Professional Learning Network (PLN). To me it seemed crazy that she would call Twitter professional when I often saw college students display the complete opposite of professionalism. However, I learned I had complete control over my Twitter, therefor I could make it into a professional learning network. A majority of the people I follow are education based twitter accounts. Although I have many, my absolute favorite is Edutopia. Through Edutopia, I have not only gained so much knowledge about technology and other important education topics and elements, but I have always been challenged to debate with myself on whether or not my mindset is really as it should be. I probably "favorite" as least one tweet of Edutopia's per day. By following educational resources like Twitter, I have been able to create a very resourceful PLN and have access to what seems like limitless educational resources. Seeing as I want to continue to grow and learn more as an educator, I will continue to develop my PLN.
In addition to my PLN, I also plan on joining the professional organization, NETA (National Educational Technology Association). This spring, spring 2015, I will be attending the NETA conference. I can hardly contain my excitement for this wonderful opportunity. After my experience at NETA, I plan to make a promotion video to share with other Peru State students to entice and encourage them to go. As for next year, it has become one of my goals and biggest desires to present at the NETA conference next year to share my heart for technology, as well as my experiences. By the time of spring 2015, I will be student teaching; with this in mind, it is my hope that I can not only share what technology means to me, but also how I am using it, or see it being used, throughout student teaching.
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In order to be an effective teacher, one who meets the needs of the students, and prepares them for the life which lies ahead, I feel I must encourage my students to never stop learning. In order to do this, I know as an educator, I can never stop learning. I feel like within the past four years, technology has changed, taking so many turns, sometimes making my head spin like I'm riding on a tilt-a-whirl. However, I know that it is not really technology that keeps the engine of this so-called tilt-a-whirl in my mind spinning. Rather, the engine behind this ride is me, my brain, and most importantly my role as an educator. I cannot always keep up with technology, nor will being a leader in technology ever be easy; however, I did not decide to be a teacher because I thought it was going to be easy. In fact, I decided to be a teacher knowing it would be the complete opposite of easy, but I still chose this career because I have a deep passion of meeting students' needs and seeing them succeed and grow. Now, I do not only have a passion for students but also for technology because I truly believe technology can be a key tool used to empower my students to create, dream, grow, and succeed. Knowing this does not make the tilt-a-whirl in my mind come to a halt, but it sure does make a ride I never want to stop.